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Mise en Place #1
Donovan's
Wyatt is at the top of his game. His restaurant, Donovan's, is booked out six months in advance and his goals of having the top steakhouse in Las Vegas no longer seem like a dream. Despite his professional success, it's not enough, because no matter how hard he works, he's still alone at the end of the day. Wyatt can't let anyone close. A lesson that's been drilled into him time and again. There's too much at stake. One mistake could cost him everything. So, he keeps his head down and stays out of trouble, until a customer drops dead in his dining room and he realizes his past may not be as far behind as he hopes.
Rhonan needs a change. Small towns and small town minds have worn on him. When his granddad calls and says he needs help, they both know it's the excuse Rhonan needs to make the move from Illinois to Las Vegas. The change of pace and fresh start is just what he needs to find himself. When a guy drops dead at the restaurant Rhonan's eating at and he overhears something he shouldn't, his journalist instincts kick in before he can stop himself. Soon, he finds it's only the beginning of the whirlwind that trails behind the mysterious chef. It may not be quite what Rhonan had in mind when he decided to turn his life upside down, but there's something about the handsome chef that keeps Rhonan coming back for more.
Rhonan needs a change. Small towns and small town minds have worn on him. When his granddad calls and says he needs help, they both know it's the excuse Rhonan needs to make the move from Illinois to Las Vegas. The change of pace and fresh start is just what he needs to find himself. When a guy drops dead at the restaurant Rhonan's eating at and he overhears something he shouldn't, his journalist instincts kick in before he can stop himself. Soon, he finds it's only the beginning of the whirlwind that trails behind the mysterious chef. It may not be quite what Rhonan had in mind when he decided to turn his life upside down, but there's something about the handsome chef that keeps Rhonan coming back for more.
- GenresM M RomanceThriller
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2018
7 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 10, 2018
I accidentally downloaded this book and then read the description, decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did.
Restaurant owner Wyatt has secrets that get him in some deep doo-doo at the same time he meets attractive journalist and sensitive Rhonan. It's not instalove but it's certainly instalust on both sides complicated by the murder in the dining room of Wyatt's restaurant.
Donovan's has twists, turns, and excitement with plenty of heat. My only criticism is
Other than that, it was a satisfying read.
Restaurant owner Wyatt has secrets that get him in some deep doo-doo at the same time he meets attractive journalist and sensitive Rhonan. It's not instalove but it's certainly instalust on both sides complicated by the murder in the dining room of Wyatt's restaurant.
Donovan's has twists, turns, and excitement with plenty of heat. My only criticism is
Other than that, it was a satisfying read.
April 22, 2019
I have no idea why this has high ratings. It's filled with all types of errors and is told very oddly. I had to skim through the last 25% just to make myself finish it. I won't be reading this author again.
May 4, 2019
This was a really great story. The idea was solid and the pace was perfect. The layering of tension was ... decent. It all tipped a bit too quickly at the midpoint, and in too obvious of ways, which was disappointing. If you're not a fellow writer or anyone who's studied far more about the craft than this author did, you'll enjoy the story.
Being a writer who has studied the craft extensively ... I was not able to enjoy it. I wanted to so badly but there were SO many errors, both in copy and content. Literally every few pages. Many of the copy errors happened at page transitions. I'm not familiar with Amazon's backend platform so I don't know if it was the author's problem or Amazon's.
I can't even begin to go into all the ways this was poorly written. It's better in the early part of the story and deteriorates to completely awful by the end. The craft errors are Writing 101 errors. This author hasn't studied a single one of the million and a half articles out there about how to write.
For one thing, she changes point of view mid-scene with no section break and it's startling and confusing. I'm not sure if English is her first language because there were a lot of straight-up grammar errors with tenses and particles, both of which are common errors with ESL speakers/writers.
There were numerous errors in consistency and logic. Rhonan goes through a whole, convoluted scene to get into street clothes with an IV in his arm that he somehow can't take out himself and yet in the next scene, he just whips it right out with no problem. He's got injuries bad enough to be admitted and complains of them consistently. Until it's time for sex. Then they all miraculously vanish. Then come back again. Those are just two examples. There were lots more instances of it.
Her scenes were clunky with abrupt cuts and time skips that left me confused and frustrated, especially when it happened during their few sex scenes. I don't feel the need to have a ton of sex in my romance but this one didn't have enough given the sexual tension and the one full one in there wasn't good at all. It read like an IKEA instruction manual, focusing solely on what he did to him with no introspection or sensory detail. There was not enough introspection given to their feelings to warrant the speed they grew to have such strong feelings for one another.
She employed tactics used in TV shows in her writing, which is also a huge mistake. She had one-sided phone calls told from the perspective of the guy on the phone, which makes zero sense. She showed actions or dialogue with absolutely no introspection so it made no sense or was just annoying in making us having to infer what was thought or said, which is one thing I detest about TV as opposed to books.
The characters did not act according to their character. There were multiple instances where they did something completely out of their established personality and it left me frustrated and sometimes downright angry. Or they just behaved in a way NO ONE would behave or speak in that situation.
There is nothing that irritates me more than an m/m written with female mentality. Yes, the majority of readers of m/m are female so certain aspects should be spun toward the female mindset but that doesn't include making the mannerisms of the men feminine in nature unless you're having an effeminate male character, which neither of these were supposed to be.
The ending was a train wreck. Even if I wasn't knowledgeable about the craft itself, this ending would have pissed me off. She employed a tactic common in 1990s YA fiction that is NOT okay in 2019 adult fiction. And then Rhonan went and did something that made absolutely no sense and wasn't even explained well. It left me more frustrated and angry than I already was just reading the damn book.
This story had SO much potential which was why I even finished it rather than dropping it straight away. It's also clear that she put forth more editing effort into the beginning of the book than the latter half. This is an amateur author and while I hate leaving negative reviews for amateur authors, this one really warranted it. I hope she goes back and revises and fixes it so that it can be the story it was meant to be.
Being a writer who has studied the craft extensively ... I was not able to enjoy it. I wanted to so badly but there were SO many errors, both in copy and content. Literally every few pages. Many of the copy errors happened at page transitions. I'm not familiar with Amazon's backend platform so I don't know if it was the author's problem or Amazon's.
I can't even begin to go into all the ways this was poorly written. It's better in the early part of the story and deteriorates to completely awful by the end. The craft errors are Writing 101 errors. This author hasn't studied a single one of the million and a half articles out there about how to write.
For one thing, she changes point of view mid-scene with no section break and it's startling and confusing. I'm not sure if English is her first language because there were a lot of straight-up grammar errors with tenses and particles, both of which are common errors with ESL speakers/writers.
There were numerous errors in consistency and logic. Rhonan goes through a whole, convoluted scene to get into street clothes with an IV in his arm that he somehow can't take out himself and yet in the next scene, he just whips it right out with no problem. He's got injuries bad enough to be admitted and complains of them consistently. Until it's time for sex. Then they all miraculously vanish. Then come back again. Those are just two examples. There were lots more instances of it.
Her scenes were clunky with abrupt cuts and time skips that left me confused and frustrated, especially when it happened during their few sex scenes. I don't feel the need to have a ton of sex in my romance but this one didn't have enough given the sexual tension and the one full one in there wasn't good at all. It read like an IKEA instruction manual, focusing solely on what he did to him with no introspection or sensory detail. There was not enough introspection given to their feelings to warrant the speed they grew to have such strong feelings for one another.
She employed tactics used in TV shows in her writing, which is also a huge mistake. She had one-sided phone calls told from the perspective of the guy on the phone, which makes zero sense. She showed actions or dialogue with absolutely no introspection so it made no sense or was just annoying in making us having to infer what was thought or said, which is one thing I detest about TV as opposed to books.
The characters did not act according to their character. There were multiple instances where they did something completely out of their established personality and it left me frustrated and sometimes downright angry. Or they just behaved in a way NO ONE would behave or speak in that situation.
There is nothing that irritates me more than an m/m written with female mentality. Yes, the majority of readers of m/m are female so certain aspects should be spun toward the female mindset but that doesn't include making the mannerisms of the men feminine in nature unless you're having an effeminate male character, which neither of these were supposed to be.
The ending was a train wreck. Even if I wasn't knowledgeable about the craft itself, this ending would have pissed me off. She employed a tactic common in 1990s YA fiction that is NOT okay in 2019 adult fiction. And then Rhonan went and did something that made absolutely no sense and wasn't even explained well. It left me more frustrated and angry than I already was just reading the damn book.
This story had SO much potential which was why I even finished it rather than dropping it straight away. It's also clear that she put forth more editing effort into the beginning of the book than the latter half. This is an amateur author and while I hate leaving negative reviews for amateur authors, this one really warranted it. I hope she goes back and revises and fixes it so that it can be the story it was meant to be.
August 4, 2018
PLEASE READ FIRST MY RATING SYSTEM!!!
To my ratings (for all people, who wonder, why I say a 3*-book is a good book and should be readed):
5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like Liberty from Seth King or Save the kids series from EM Leya). it’s like an A+
4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books)
It’s like an A
3* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in hospitals). I can recommend them definitively!
It’s like an A-B
2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartly, but it was ok)
It’s like an C- D
1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (maybe too many mistakes, not a nice plot, or unlogical story, so a NO-GO)
It’s like failure in the whole line, dismissed, repeat the class
To my ratings (for all people, who wonder, why I say a 3*-book is a good book and should be readed):
5* - very very good and rare (it would be a Blow-Away-book like Liberty from Seth King or Save the kids series from EM Leya). it’s like an A+
4* - very good and will be often reread and is a WOW-book with interesting plot and surprises (like most of Andrew Grey books)
It’s like an A
3* - a really good book, which will be reread a few times (most romances where you can enjoy for relaxing and during waiting times in hospitals). I can recommend them definitively!
It’s like an A-B
2* - it was ok to read, but it's more a one-time-reader (I wouldn't recommend it heartly, but it was ok)
It’s like an C- D
1* - sorry, but that isn't really a book for me (maybe too many mistakes, not a nice plot, or unlogical story, so a NO-GO)
It’s like failure in the whole line, dismissed, repeat the class
August 11, 2018
My friend underestimated herself!
So writing this review i can say im actually friends with this author. Going into this i had a open mind and im glad i did. From the beginning she started the sizzle and blew it into full blown flames. Wyatt was tunning from his past while at times I wanted to smack him. Hee tugged my heart and i felt for him at the same time. Rhonan was just so special and close to me. With his quirkyness wanted to smack him to at times. But still loved how they came together. When the climax in the book hit I was like what!!!!! This book is definitely worth the read and time. I cant wait to read what else she releases. She is truly talented!
So writing this review i can say im actually friends with this author. Going into this i had a open mind and im glad i did. From the beginning she started the sizzle and blew it into full blown flames. Wyatt was tunning from his past while at times I wanted to smack him. Hee tugged my heart and i felt for him at the same time. Rhonan was just so special and close to me. With his quirkyness wanted to smack him to at times. But still loved how they came together. When the climax in the book hit I was like what!!!!! This book is definitely worth the read and time. I cant wait to read what else she releases. She is truly talented!
May 4, 2020
I liked this story quite a bit but could not give it a higher rating. The multiple spelling errors and misused words pulled me out of the story repeatedly. A proper editor could have made this a five star read. Most of the errors were made right at the climax so I imagine that Ms Strix got excited about the ending and tripped herself up. It's a shame which again could have been avoided by a good editor or enough proof readers. The book did have a nice flow and engaging characters. I have to disagree with a couple of reviewers by saying that I thought that the ending was handled well.
July 27, 2018
Donovan’s is a book that builds. The tension unravels itself slowly at first but it quickly changes pace, leaving you to ask the question: “Sleep or one more chapter.” I sided with chapters. Wyatt and Rhonan are both well written and keep you enthralled, needing to know more. Josiah, Shelia, Sarah and the other side characters add to the plot without mucking things up.
If you are looking for a damn good read; romance, intrigue and a twist you aren’t expecting, pick this up.
If you are looking for a damn good read; romance, intrigue and a twist you aren’t expecting, pick this up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2018
I loved this book, I loved the world it gave me a view of. But most of all I loved Wyatt and Rhonan, two lost souls who found each other or did they? There was times I wanted to bang their heads together, and at one point I did scream NO! But I read on and could breath. And on a lighter note I love Rhonan's granddad Josiah, that man, he made me laugh so much and I loved if love for his grandson. My one and only complaint is I wanted MORE!
August 1, 2018
I really liked Donovan’s and yes, it’s partly because it’s about a chef. But it was such a fast-paced, interesting story with a little mystery thrown into the romance. I liked Rhonan and Wyatt. I liked how information about them is slowly revealed. CC Strix is a new to me author and I look forward to reading more in the future, especially more in the Mise en Place series. I totally recommend this story.
April 29, 2019
Awesome.
Such suspense. So much mystery. I loved it. New to me author, I received this as a freebie on a promotion. Great characters, very well written. Will certainly be looking for more.
Such suspense. So much mystery. I loved it. New to me author, I received this as a freebie on a promotion. Great characters, very well written. Will certainly be looking for more.
August 5, 2018
very interesting story.. i enjoyed the chef part.. i enjoyed the writing and the feelings.. overall this was a lot of fun to read and i liked it
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews